German Culture

All about Germany

Feuerzangenbowle – Glühwein with a Twist!

Feuerzangenbowle with the burning Zuckerhut. Photo by Kore Nordmann

Feuerzangenbowle is a traditional German alcoholic drink for which a rum-soaked sugarloaf is set on fire and drips into mulled wine. It is often part of a Christmas or New Year’s Eve tradition. The name translates literally to “fire-tongs punch”. Glühwein (spiced mulled wine) is quite popular during the winter months in Germany. But if you are looking to kick things up a notch, you may find this drink a lot more interesting.

The popularity of the drink was boosted in Germany by the 1944 film comedy Die Feuerzangenbowle. It is a traditional drink of some German fraternities, who also call it Krambambuli, as the red color is reminiscent of a cherry liqueur of that name which was manufactured by the distillery Der Lachs zu Danzig.

SAFETY: be very careful, you are going to be dealing with alcohol and fire. Take the necessary precautions!

 

Feuerzangenbowle

Feuerzangenbowle is prepared in a bowl, similar to a fondue set, which is usually suspended over a small burner. The bowl is filled with heated dry red wine spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger and orange peel, similar to mulled wine. The Feuerzange was originally a pair of tongs, but nowadays it is common for a purpose-designed metal grate mounted on top of the bowl to hold the Zuckerhut (“sugarloaf”, or literally “sugar hat”), a sugar cone of 250 g. The sugar is soaked with rum and set alight, melting and caramelizing. The rum should have at least 54% alcohol per volume and be at room temperature in order to burn properly. More rum is poured with a ladle until all the sugar has melted and mixed with the wine. The resulting punch is served in mugs while the burner keeps the bowl warm. For some the ceremony is more important than the drink itself, celebrating the gathering of friends and conveying a notion of Gemütlichkeit (“cozy atmosphere”).

Ingredients:

8 1⁄2 cups dry red wine (2 liters)
2 oranges
2 lemons
1 stick cinnamon
5 cloves
1 dash ginger, grounded
1⁄2 lb sugar loaf
2 cups brown rum (at least 54% alcohol)

Preparation:

 

  • Wash oranges and lemons thoroughly, pat dry and cut into slices or wedges.
  • In a large pot combine red wine, oranges and lemons, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Heat slowly making sure it does not come to a boil. Remove pot from heat and place on a heat source (such as from a Fondue set).
  • Place sugar cone into metal holder (“Feuerzange”). A metal rack or mesh strainer will do, as long as it doesn’t sink into the wine – don’t use aluminum.
  • Soak sugar cone with rum and carefully light it. The sugar will melt and drip into the wine.
  • Little by little start adding more rum to the sugar cone using a long-handled ladle.
  • Once the sugar cone and rum have completely burned off, gently stir the drink and serve in mugs or heatproof glasses.

Note: Extreme caution must be taken when handling alcohol and open flame, particularly with high alcohol content ingredients. Use long wooden matches or extended candle lighters to ignite the sugar, NOT SHORT MATCHES or cigarette lighters. Be very careful that nothing flammable like paper or cloth are around. We disclaim any responsibility if you burn yourself or property out of negligence.




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Marzipan Potatoes – Marzipankartoffeln

Marzipankartoffeln are baby potatoes made from marzipan and are traditionally given to friends in little bags or placed on the goodie plate at Christmastime. These traditional German Christmas treats are quick and easy to make and irresistible!

Ingredients:

2 cups ground almonds
2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon rose water *
1 large egg white
fine Dutch cocoa (such as Droste Cocoa)

Preparation

  1. Mix almonds, confectioners’ sugar, rose water and egg in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Wrap in a damp towel and allow to rest overnight.
  2. Take marzipan and roll into small balls ( 2 cm or 3 cm in diameter). Place cocoa, about 1/2 cup, into a small bag and toss a marzipan ball into bag. Close bag and gently roll around with your hands until the ball is covered in a light dusting of cocoa. The cocoa will cause the balls to look remarkably like baby potatoes!

* Rose water is a clear liquid, distilled from fresh rose petals. To make rose water: Collect the petals from 3-4 full rose heads that have not been treated with pesticides. Place in a saucepan with 1 pint of water. Heat gently until the petals are transparent, do not boil. Cool mixture, strain, pressing liquid out of petals. Refrigerate up to one week.

Related articles:
Lübeck – The City of Marzipan and Sea Ports
Marzipan




How to Cook Gingerbread Cookies


Gingerbread cookies are traditionally made in Germany for Christmas. Cook them anytime, and let some Christmas into the house right now!

Difficulty Level: Average      Time Required: 30 min

 Here’s How:

  1. Heat 3/4 cup honey, 3/8 cup sugar and 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan until smooth.
  2. Stir in ginger, black pepper, ground cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and nutmeg (a pinch of each).
  3. Let cool.
  4. Sift 2 cups flour into a bowl, add the honey mass and one egg yolk. Mix well.
  5. Dissolve 1 tsp baking soda in 1 tbsp warm water and add to the mixture. 
  6. Knead in 1 cup flour to make a firm dough.
  7. Heat the oven to 160 C. 
  8. Roll out the dough to 1 cm thick.
  9. Cut out your favorite figures and place on a greased baking sheet.
  10. Bake for 10-12 min and let cool.
  11. For icing mix 4 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp water.
  12. Decorate the cookies when cool.

Tips:

  • Use the heavy-based saucepan.  
  • Make the dough firm enough to come away from the bowl’s sides.  




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Strawberry Santas

Strawberry SantasIngredients:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

1 lb large strawberries
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3-4 Tablespoons powdered sugar (or sugar substitute – to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sesame seeds

Cooking:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. You want to cut just enough to make the hat with.
Clean out the whole strawberry with a paring knife, if necessary (some of them are hollow already. Prep all of the strawberries and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or Ziploc with the corner snipped off. Fill the strawberries with cheesecake mixture.
Once strawberries are filled, top with the ‘hats.’ Decorate according to photos or your own imagination.
If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving. Serve on decorative plate with sugar “snow”.



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Pfeffernüsse – German Christmas Spice Cookies

pfeffernusse

Pfeffernüsse are tiny spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat in Germany around Christmas. These cookies with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a hit of black pepper are ideal for the holiday season.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is best)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons anise extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine the molasses, honey, and butter.  Place the pot over low heat, stirring often until the butter has melted, all the ingredients are completely combined, and the mixture is creamy.  Do not boil.  Remove the pot from the heat, pour the mixture into a large bowl, and set aside and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.  Stir in the beaten eggs and the anise extract.

2. While the mixture is cooling, sift together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, black pepper, and salt in a separate bowl.  With a large wooden spoon, gradually stir in the sifted dry ingredients with the molasses mixture until everything is thoroughly combined (the dough will be stiff by this point).  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.

3. After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).  Grease several baking sheets.  Roll the dough into small balls (about 1/2-inch in diameter).  Place the balls on the greased baking sheets, spacing them at least 1 inch apart, as they will spread slightly.

4. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cookies have lost their shiny look and are slightly firm to the touch (but still soft).  The cookies may have some small cracks as well.  Using a thin spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheet, move them to a rack to cool.  Once the cookies have cooled completely, roll each cookie in sifted confectioners’ sugar to coat thoroughly.  Store in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers at room temperature.  Allow the cookies to “age” at least 24 hours before serving (a few days to a week is even better).  If desired, roll cookies in confectioners’ sugar to coat them once more before serving.

Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/506514289326192224/



Vanillekipferl – Vanilla Crescents

vanilla-crescents

These delicate, crescent-shaped cookies flavored with vanilla and dusted with confectioner’s sugar are classic German Christmas cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (~110 g), softened, halved or whole
1 egg yolk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup ground almonds (preferably skinless)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla powder
1 whole vanilla bean, slit and deseeded
about 1/4 cup sugar
about 1 tablespoon vanilla powder

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. Mix together butter, egg yolk, powdered sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Add ground almonds, flour, salt and vanilla powder. Place dough in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool.
  3. Roll small crescents (they extend a bit) and lightly flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden.
  4. Mix sugar and vanilla powder together on a plate or bowl. Roll the warm cookies around in the vanilla sugar mixture. Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.




Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Stars

zimtsterne-cinnamon_stars

Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) are maybe THE traditional German Christmas cookies. Everyone loves these little treats.

Ingredients:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 250 g powdered sugar
  • 300 g almond flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • peel of 1/2 lemon
  • rum flavor (or brown rum)
  • optional: rectangle-shaped baking wafers

Preparation:

  1. Beat egg white until very firm and slowly add powdered sugar, put 1/4 aside for the glaze.
  2. Mix ground almond, cinnamon and lemon peel with the egg white. You should get the kind of dough that you can roll out.
  3. Dust some powdered sugar on a baking board, roll the dough and cut out stars with a star cookie cutter. Optional: place the stars on a rectangle wafer and cut around the edges with a sharp knife.
  4. Put the stars on a baking tray laid out with parchment paper or a buttered surface.
  5. Preheat oven to 140-160 degrees C (320 F)
  6. Take the remaining egg white and add some rum flavor (or if you like real brown rum) until you get a glaze which you can spread on top of the stars but not too thick, just  a thin layer.
  7. Bake the stars for 30-40 minutes.

Christmas in Germany



Christmas traditions in Germany

WeihnachtenChristmas (Weihnachten) is considered to be the most important of the major holidays in Germany. Not only the holiday itself, but also the weeks leading up to the celebration of Christmas involve many traditions and customs.

Christmas preparations in Germany begin from 1st of December as people bake spiced cakes, gingerbread houses and cookies, make gifts and start holiday decorations. On 6th of December, Nikolaustag or St. Claus day is celebrated and children leave out a shoe or boot outside the door on the previous evening.

Good children receive presents while bad children receive blows from rod. Traditional Christmas toys consist of little dolls of fruit. Children write letters to the angel Christkind (a messenger of the Christ child), a winged figure in white robes and a golden crown who delivers gifts to German children, and keep them on their windowsills on Christmas Eve. Sometimes, they decorate letters by sprinkling sugar on the glue-brushed letters to make them sparkle.

The German Christmas season officially begins with the first Sunday of Advent. The Advent wreath (Adventskranz) is adorned with four candles, one of which is lit on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The first Advent wreath, which appeared in the mid-19th century, had 4 larger candles and 19 smaller ones. Each day one additional candle was lit to help the children count the days until Christmas. Today only the four larger candles remain. The Advent wreath has been attributed religious and elemental significance. The tradition of a ring of light existed among the Germanic tribes many centuries before the celebration of Advent.

December 24th begins as a regular workday. But by 2:00 pm, often even earlier, businesses close in preparation for the holiday celebration, a large part of which occurs on Christmas Eve in Germany. The traditional evening meal includes roast duck, goose or rabbit with potato dumplings and of course Christmas Stollen. Families sing Christmas carols together and may read the story of Christ’s birth aloud. Family members exchange gifts. The tradition of opening gifts on Heiliger Abend was started by Martin Luther in the 16th century in favor of a celebration that honored Christ rather than a Catholic saint.

Both December 25 and 26 are legal holidays in Germany and are known as the First and Second Christmas Day respectively.





Related Articles:
Keeping Up Traditions In Germany
Christmas tree – Tannenbaum
Advent in Germany – Four Weeks Left till Christmas!
German Christmas Markets – Christmas Shopping in Germany
Christ Child – Christkind

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Glühwein

gluehwein

Glühwein is enjoyed at traditional Christmas Markets and is also known as an after-ski drink. Watch it: since you drink this wine warm, the alcohol goes to your head extra quick!

Here’s How:

  1. Place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan with a piece of cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, 8 cloves, and 3/8 cup sugar.
  2. Bring to a boil and simmer to a thick syrup.
  3. Pour in 3 cups red wine.
  4. Heat to just below the boiling point.
  5. Serve hot in mugs or glasses that have been preheated in warm water (cold glasses will break.)

Tips:

  • If you wish, add a cinnamon stick and orange slice to each glass.  
  • Serve hot.
  • Walk, don’t drive home.




 

Three Kings’ Cake

3kingscake-sThree King’s Cake (or bread) is closely allied with the traditions around the Epiphany (January 6th). This date commemorates the visit the Three Wise Men made to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Ingredients:

Dough

3/4 cup light raisins
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 1/3 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped candied orange or lemon peel
1/2 pound (2 sticks) softened butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 large eggs
4 cups + 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup brandy or whiskey or orange juice

Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons lemon or orange juice

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly coat a 24 cm baking pan and two mini loaf pans (for gifting!) with cooking spray. Mix fruits and nuts and toss with 3/4 cup flour to keep ingredients from clumping together in cake batter.

2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together 4 cups flour and baking powder and slowly add to the butter-sugar-egg mixture, combining thoroughly. Add vanilla and liquor or juice, mixing well. Stir in fruit-nut mixture by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake mini loaves 25 minutes to 35 minutes or more, and large pan 45 minutes to 1 hour or more, or until toothpick tests clean.

5. Let cake cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before inverting onto rack to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients and pour over cooled cake, letting it run down the sides.

6. When cutting the cake, insert a whole unshelled almond in one slice of cake from the underside. Make a paper crown, if desired, and place it atop the cake. Let guests serve themselves. Whoever gets the almonds is king or queen for the day and wears the crown.